Feature Friday is a feature on Bookish Treasures that spotlights an author and their latest release. Every Friday I will be featuring an author through either an interview or a guest post. If you are interested in taking part please send me an email.

This week I am featuring Chanel Cleeton whose debut novel I See London releases from Harlequin in February.

I See London by Chanel Cleeton

SynopsisMaggie Carpenter is ready for a change— and to leave her ordinary life in South Carolina behind. But when she accepts a scholarship to the International School in London, a university attended by the privileged offspring of diplomats and world leaders, Maggie might get more than she bargained for.

When Maggie meets Hugh, a twentysomething British guy, she finds herself living the life she always wanted. Suddenly she’s riding around the city in a Ferrari, wearing borrowed designer clothes and going to the hottest clubs. The only problem? Another guy, the one she can’t seem to keep her hands off of.

Half French, half Lebanese, and ridiculously wealthy, Samir Khouri has made it clear he doesn’t do relationships. He’s the opposite of everything Maggie thought she wanted…and he’s everything she can’t resist. Torn between her dream guy and the boy haunting her dreams, Maggie has to fight for her own happy ending. In a city like London, you never know where you stand, and everything can change in the blink of an eye.

This is a New Adult romance recommended for readers 17 and up.Add it on Goodreads!

Interview with Chanel

Why did you decide to
become an author?

I’ve always loved books. Reading has always been my greatest passion
and books have gotten me through really difficult times in my life. When I was younger I would play around with
writing but I never finished any of the projects I started.Being an author seemed so far out of reach.

As I got older, I started thinking about it more and
more.When I met my husband and we later
got engaged, my life changed rather drastically.I was going down a career path that I loved,
but he’s in the military with a ten-year service commitment and no control over
where we move.I was working in
international politics at the time and really needed to be in a handful of
cities.So I gave it up and moved from
London to Oklahoma to get married.I
tried a ton of jobs but nothing ever fit and honestly I wasn’t very good at a
lot of them.But a voice in the back of
my head told me to try writing and even though there were a lot of times I
didn’t believe I could do it (and a LOT of rejections), I did.It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever
made.I’ve found something I’m
passionate about and I’m so proud to be part of the writing community.It really has been the biggest blessing.

How do you balance
writing with other things in your life?

Probably not very well :) I’ve always been a bit of a
workaholic and this is no different. I
just graduated law school in May and it was really tough to write when I was in
school and working.Basically, I just
had to make time for it.I wrote every
day, even if it was just a little bit.I
wasn’t a big fan of law school so writing was a huge release for me.At the same time, though, I had to choose
between writing and doing social media because I really didn’t have time for
both.So I didn’t have much of an online
presence.When my book sold over the
summer I had to kick into high gear on the social media side.We moved to South Korea in May so I’m pretty
much writing full-time and now have the ability to focus on my writing
career.With my release coming up soon,
I still struggle between spending time working on marketing and promo and
finding time to write.I’d love an extra
day in the week J

What is your
favourite thing about being an author?

I love watching a story take shape.I’ll start off with an idea (I’m a huge
pantser) and as I work I’m amazed as the story unfolds and changes.Often my characters will completely take over
and the story will become something else entirely from what I envisioned.Those moments are so special because you
really feel like you’ve created something independent of yourself.

What are your
favourite books?

This is such a hard question for me!! I’m going to limit it
to YA and NA because otherwise I could go on for days J On the YA side some of my
favourites include: Dare You To by Katie McGarry, Grave Mercy by Robin
LaFevers, the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, the Divergent series by
Veronica Roth, and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.On the NA side some of my favourites include:
Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines, Faking It by Cora Carmack, Beautiful
Disaster by Jamie McGuire, Rush Me by Allison Parr, A Little Too Far by Lisa
Desrochers, and Unteachable by Leah Raeder.

Are there any
books/authors that inspired you to write?

So many! Probably anything ever written by Nora
Roberts.She’s one of my biggest
heroes.Same with Judith McNaught and
Brenda Joyce.I also love Sophie
Kinsella.When I was younger I was
obsessed with the Sweet Valley books, Nancy Drew series, Baby-Sitters Club,
Saddle Club, etc.My love of reading has
been the single biggest factor inspiring me to write.

Describe your book in
one sentence.

An American girl from South Carolina moves to London to
attend an exclusive international university and is caught between the hot
British guy who is everything she thought she wanted and the half French, half
Lebanese playboy she can’t seem to resist.

Where did you get the
idea for I See London, did anything inspire you to write it?

I See London is inspired by the four years I spent living in
London and attending an international university.My university was an incredible place and for
ten years I’ve been saying that someone needed to write a book about it! I’m so
glad I got the chance.

What made you decide
to write a New Adult romance novel?

Honestly, I just wanted to write this story.I played around with the idea of making the
characters YA age because NA was still a very difficult sell. But when I tried, it just didn’t work.I See London is all about university life and
it would have been wrong to write it any other way.Luckily my agent loved the idea and was very
supportive of NA, so we decided to take a chance.

What would you say
makes your book unique and worth reading?

I think the biggest hook is the international setting.My characters come from all over the world
and it makes for a really cool environment.It’s a different take on the university experience.I don’t know that I would have been able to
write a book set at an American university because I just didn’t have that
experience. London is an AMAZING city
and I’ve had so much writing about it.I
joke that this book is really my little love letter to London.

Is there any specific
message you wanted to convey in the book?

More than anything this book is about following your dreams
and having an adventure and I hope that readers experience that when they read
it.My heroine, Maggie, is from a small
town in South Carolina, she gets a scholarship to attend this university in
London, and it opens her eyes to a whole other world.It gives her a chance to reinvent herself and
to become the person she always wanted to be.For me, that’s the heart of NA— that age when your life is filled with
possibilities and you’re growing into yourself.I think there’s such a spirit of adventure to NA and I really wanted to
convey that with this book.

What are your plans
for future books?

Right now I’m finishing the sequel to I See London.It’s tentatively titled, London Falling, and
will be released by Harlequin HQN in 2014.I’m getting ready to start a secret NA project that I’m SO excited about.I also have something in the works on the YA
thriller side.

Do you have any
hobbies and Interests unrelated to books?

I love to travel and I’ve been really lucky to go to some
amazing places.Besides that, I’m pretty
obsessed with my dogs.We have three-
two yorkies and a poodle mix- and they are my babies.

Would you ever
consider putting these into any of your books?

I See London was heavily influenced by my love of
traveling.It’s set in London but my
characters take trips to Paris and to Venice.I’ve been to both and LOVE them.The sequel includes a trip to Marbella, Spain which is another favourite
of mine.

I have jokingly said that I want to write a children’s book
about my pups and their adventures, but yeah, I probably won’t J

FUN STUFF

If you could meet any
one author (dead or alive) who would it be and why?

Probably Judith McNaught.I am such a HUGE fan of her work and I read her books at a time in my
life that was particularly tough so I think she always will stand out as a
favourite of mine.

Tell us one
interesting fact about yourself.

I don’t know how to whistle.

What is your
favourite food?

It’s a tie between Mexican or Lebanese.I’ve been ordering the exact same dish
(Burrito Ranchero with Beef) at this Mexican restaurant for 20 years and it
would probably top the list. Also, anything from Ranoush in London.I would eat there several times a week and I
miss it SO much.

What is the most
adventurous thing you have ever done?

I moved to London at 17 years old.I didn’t know anyone and I just got on a
plane by myself.It was a huge chance
and it was a risk, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

If you could be any
supernatural creature which would you choose?

Wow, I’ve never thought of that.Maybe a shapeshifter? I feel like that could
be useful.

About the Author

Originally a Florida girl, at seventeen
Chanel moved to London to attend an international university.In the four years that followed, she received
her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, learned how to dance, travelled through Europe,
and made lifelong friendships.Chanel
fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever.But fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise,
when an American fighter pilot with smooth dance moves, swept her off her feet.

Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is
living her next adventure in South Korea.An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she is happiest curled up with a
book.She has a weakness for handbags,
puppy cuddles, and her fighter pilot husband.Chanel writes New Adult contemporary romances and Young Adult thrillers.
Her New Adult debut, I SEE LONDON, will be released by Harlequin (HQN) on
February 3, 2014, followed by a sequel, LONDON FALLING, later in the year.